The Accidental Winemaker
I never dreamed that I'd be a winemaker! Several years ago, we came to California with our small herd of horses to escape the Florida summers. While my wife was fully involved with the horses, I became interested in the vineyards around our ranch. Met some good people, got interested. And now, in 2020, we've bottled the first of grapes that I helped source and blend, wines that have my input with the assistance of master winemaker, Steve Clifton.
Hopefully, you will enjoy drinking these wines as much as I've enjoyed making them.
Kent Mitchell
How Time Flies
Wow, I can't believe it has been six months in Florida. Heading back to CA in June, horses and ducks in tow. We've had a wild winter; a 12w house project has taken the contractors 36w and we are just moving in with 10d to ship out!
Between that chaos and my "screw loose" discovery earlier this year, we've had quite a lot going on. Add some new grandbabies, a new daughter-in-law, and wow, time does fly.
May 13, 2022 at 5:33 PM
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Sometimes People Tell Me I Have A Screw Loose...
And apparently, they are correct! I had a cervical fusion surgery back in 2013 and in the past few weeks (after an epic ski trip with high school friends), noticed some increased neck pain. Fast forward to this week when xrays show that one of the screws has backed out about 1/2". So, off to surgery in the next few weeks.
So, no more ski trips for 2022 and time to buckle down and get the new wines bottled and ready for summer in California.
We're still settling in to our winter digs in Ocala, FL and looking to return to CA by summer. Rona and the horses are enjoying lots of hills to ride on the property, I'm enjoying walking the same.
Folks are really loving the new Rosè which makes us super happy as we loved it when it was nothing more than grape juice! Hope to be offering tastings in Solvang by this summer.
Feb 18, 2022 at 10:09 AM
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A New Year
Well, December was quite a busy month. Relocating the horses and ducks from CA to FL for the winter, moving ourselves, traveling to NC, PA, NY for the holidays and now January is almost over as well. We found that, surprisingly for a winter release, the Grenache Rose has been incredibly well received and we're looking forward to having our wines served at outlets here in Ocala. Rona's hosting our first little schooling horse show this coming week; we still have a lot of projects in the works but it should be fun.
We're hoping to be back in a physical presence in CA by our return this summer and may even do a retail outlet in FL as well.
Here's hoping that 2022 is an amazing year for everyone.
Jan 21, 2022 at 9:43 AM
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Happy Thanksgiving
It's been quite a busy fall around the farms and the winery. We've come out with our latest red, a Cab Blend, our Claret as well as our Grenache Rosè. Our Wellington FL and our Wilmington NC farms have sold, we've moved business offices from North Carolina to Florida and we're packing up the herd and relocating to Ocala, FL for the winter months. Not that our little corner of California isn't beautiful in the winter too.
We've spent the week in Texas for a family reunion, Thanksgiving holiday, welcome our three week old grandson and yes, enjoyed a fair amount of wine with family. We were happy to be sponsors of the Duke Jump For The Children Horse Show and customers have also shared photos of their holidays with our wines "on tap" so to speak.
We are grateful for our family and friends and this amazing life we lead. Hope that everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving.
Nov 26, 2021 at 3:07 PM
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Talk About Time Flying...
Cannot believe it has been over a month since I've checked in and we've been coast to coast to coast.....
September started off in North Carolina then down to Ocala, Florida then back to the ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, then down to La Jolla, CA for a family wedding and an awesome Boz Scaggs concert, on to Houston, TX for my 50th High School Reunion wrapping up with a wine tasting, and back to Ocala...all in under a month...
We're working with our winemaker, Steve Clifton, on opening up a small tasting room near home; working with folks in Florida for opportunities at the horse show venue and local clubs. Rona's again pledged a portion of sales to benefit wildife - September for Hurricane Ida assistance and October will go to Friends of Texas Wildlife in The Woodlands, TX. So, it's been pretty busy all around.
Hope that you all are having a great fall and looking forward to the holidays ahead.
Oct 7, 2021 at 10:11 PM
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New Wines At Last
So excited to have our newest wines ready, labeled, and licensed! We have a 2020 Grenache Rosè, a 2018 Malbec Reserve, and a Cab Sav blend, our 2018 Claret. Wine club members will be getting a bottle of each to try later this month along with their regular orders!
Sep 1, 2021 at 12:22 PM
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Hurricane Ida Donations
With the devastation coming to our Gulf Coast, we will be making the September WILD2525 discount in honor of National Wildlife Day focused on those areas. Use the code WILD2525 and get 25% off your order, 25% off shipping and we will donate 25% of all sales to Wildlife Rescue efforts in the area affected by Hurricane Ida. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the path of this horrendous storm.
Aug 29, 2021 at 9:43 AM
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Discount Days Ahead
While I've been spending a good portion of time in Florida, Rona's been back and forth for the horses, ducks, and wine stuff. This week I've been informed, by Rona, that we're doing discounts for National Red Wine Day (40%) Aug 24-31 with code RED40; National Wildlife Day (25% + 25% to charity) September 1-31 WILD2525; National Grandparents Day September 12 GRAND50 (50% off orders and 50% off wine); and GINGER50 on September 23 in appreciation of National Redheads Day for Rona and her Mom and our son Alex. 
Aug 24, 2021 at 9:31 AM
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Time Flies
Wow, cannot believe it is mid-August already. We're in the midst of changing farms in Florida - from Wellington up to Ocala, bottling new wines in CA, visiting family in NC, NY, and PA and relocating our "business" office to Ocala, FL as well. It's bittersweet that we've just sold the first "Long Creek" entity - our farm in NC where we had wholesale trees, hay, and hosted events. It'll be in good hands; the new owners have the Pine Valley Market in Wilmington, NC and they'll be hosting even more events at the farm, growing stuff to sell and serve at the Market, so we're super happy to see this "farm to table" use of the land.
Aug 18, 2021 at 11:22 AM
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National Lighthouse Weekend
While many places may be celebrating National Lighthouse Weekend in early August, we're kind of partial to the celebrations at "Old Baldy". Not just because they will be serving up our wines but because I spent over two decades working on and developing Bald Head Island, NC so I'm a little partial to that particular slice of paradise. Again, Rona talked me into discounts - 40% on product and 20% on shipping using the code LIGHT40 through August 15.
We spent most of July traveling around, visited the amazing Blue Mingo Inn on Otsego Lake, New York for a family get-away which provided some welcome down time for us both. While not a lighthouse, the "Kingfisher Tower" folly was our view every morning and made for a lovely kayak trip across the lake.
Good to be back home for a spell.
Aug 1, 2021 at 6:27 PM
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